Time for another "International Vintage" post! This time, I'm highlighting another one of the countries I lived in that is very near and dear to my heart: Sudan!

Specifically, I want to introduce you to a Sudanese woman named Princess Kouka:

I have run across this picture in several places on the internet, but I don't know where it's originally from. This picture's origin is a lot like all the other information I can find about Princess Kouka.... I can find almost nothing! She seems to be a Sudanese Arab, probably from the northern part of Sudan, and apparently she is royalty. All I really know is that she played a character named "Gara" in a movie with Paul Robeson. It was released in 1937 and called "Jericho" (also alternatively titled "Dark Sands"). Here's a short visual snippet of her from the film:

I can find literally nothing else besides what I have included in this post. She is obviously a beautiful woman, and she must have been talented to have somehow made it from Sudan to the British movie industry in the 1930s. However, I can't find record of her ever making another movie. The newspaper clipping below (albeit slightly patronizing), does seem to imply that she didn't speak English and had not had much world experience outside Sudan at that point. How did she get cast in a British movie? Did her family allow her to go, or did she go against their wishes? Who was her family? What was her life like before and after this movie?

I was also very cold after arriving in the U.S. from Sudan. I totally get that!

My research has only left me with more questions about Princess Kouka than answers! If anyone can find other information about her, I would love to know it!

As many of you know, I recently restarted my Etsy shop this year and revamped it to sell vintage and vintage-inspired accessories. I've had a lot of fun getting it all set up and finding items, but I'm still working on improving it and making it better. Thus, this week I dropped almost all of my prices, permanently.

Let me explain why.

(As you read amongst pictures of some of the items in my shop!)

I was looking at other Etsy shops trying to find a dress for an upcoming event that would fit me and work with my style. I was pretty frustrated as it's hard enough to find a dress that fits me (or is close to fitting), not to mention the added frustration of not being able to afford anything that didn't require massive repairs.

Then..... I found it!!! The perfect dress.

It was not only my size, but it was completely affordable for me! In fact, it was even less than I thought I would have to dish out for a dress! Reader, you cannot imagine how excited and happy I felt to have finally found something I liked that I could also afford.

Pretty much immediately, I checked out the shop's other items, and I was pleased to find they were affordable as well! While not cheap, they were manageable for me. I saw some items that I've been wanting but thought were out of my grasp for a long while, like a 1940s coat and a lovely 30s hat. I had to fight to urge to buy them on the spot; I was so glad to have real options!

I then thought to myself, "Does my shop make people this happy to look through? Why do I have a shop? What's the purpose?"

I, of course, want to fund my own vintage habit. But I also want people like me to be able to enjoy beautiful vintage items in their own wardrobes. I want the timeless class, modesty, and originality of past times to be accessible to everybody who wants it, not just a habit of people with money to spare or who have the blessing of shopping for and wearing vintage as a career. I know how it feels to be frustrated looking for vintage because it's just so out of my financial grasp as a college student. I understand what it is like to compare myself to other vintage-lovers who seem to have an endlessly fabulous, large wardrobe that I can't "compete" with. It's very frustrating!

I then asked myself, "Does my shop evoke those feelings in other people?"

I realized that college students and others like me probably couldn't afford to get many of the items from my shop. I don't want them to sit in my shop forever! I want them to be enjoyed and loved and looking fabulous on some vintage gal!

Thus, I have reduced my prices quite a bit because of this shop-purpose reevaluation. If you've been looking at an item, now's your chance to get it! I hope that I've communicated my heart effectively on this matter and helped make the vintage world more accessible to you guys in my own small way!

P.S. The winner of the Valentine's Day Giveaway is...... Helen Mae of Lovebirds Vintage!

Weather here has been really, really strange. It is said of Missouri, "If you don't like the weather, stick around. It'll change." And, boy, has it lived up to that reputation! Literally only on Thursday we had a large ice storm, and today people are walking around in shorts and t-shirts. No joke. How crazy is that?!

On Thursday, classes were cancelled because it was too difficult for people off campus to drive on the icy roads to the school. We were like ridiculously giddy little kids. The girls on my dorm floor and I took advantage of the opportunity and had an awesome day!

We have a random tent that's been in the storage room for years, and my friend Danielle and I decided to set it up in the study room, borrow some Christmas lights from our rooms, and have a day of indoor camping! Everyone contributed their blankets and pillows, and soon we had a cozy, comfy place to sit and be way too excited about our free day.

a few of the ladies crammed in the tent

Then as the day progressed, we brought in my TV and watched movies. In a tent. Inside.

How fun is that?!?!

It just goes to show that a little creativity and a few friends can be a whole lotta fun!

Salmon (fish) and sea foam (mint) are two of my favorite colors in the world, and I LOVE them together. Hence this outfit!

Also, I realize that my hair isn't very 30s/40s vintage-y at all, but some days I really just want to leave my hair alone and let it be free to blow in the wind. Today was one of those days! To my chagrin, I haven't run across any 30s/40s hairdos that go with straight hair. Very sad.

Do you guys have any "free hair" days or something similar when you just want to drop an aspect of your favorite decade? What do you do?

As I explain in the video, I was reading Jessica's post on Chronically Vintage on her responses to the 21 questions involved in a game of vintage tag, and at the end she said if we wanted to participate, to consider ourselves tagged! I am indeed doing that, and the following video answers all the questions.

If you want to do the same thing....... TAG!!!

The video is a bit long, so I've included a list of the questions below and the time at which they start, so you can skip to the ones that really interest you if you're short on time!P.S. Don't forget to enter the Valentine's Day giveaway! It ends on the 21st!

1. Who are your style icons?

0:50

2. What is your favorite way to get inspired?

1:58

3. What is your most-used hair tool?

4. What is your favorite hair tool?

combined at 2:46

5. Updo, down, or half-and-half?

4:01

6. Is vintage something you do every day, on weekends, or special occasions?

This outfit reminded me of the children's book/movie character, Madeline, a French orphan who has many adventures in Paris and the French countryside:

I LOVED Madeline as a child. And by "as a child" I mean if I had a Madeline movie here I'd be watching it now.

WIth this outfit I did a little decade-mixing, but I'm pleased with the overall look. It's a bit more 60s than I normally wear, but, hey, some days it's good to branch out! (Not to mention I've yet to run across a 30s/40s straight hairstyle... rrrrrrrrrr.)

This sweater is a bit big for me, but I still like it. It's a nicer quality sweater than most of my other ones, and I just like how it feels. And I really like this leather blue jay pin my grandmother picked up for me; it's one of my only novelty brooches.

It has finally arrived! Here are the pictures from the Teddy Girl shoot my sister and I did. We found a perfect place downtown in an industrial area that somewhat resembles the bombed-out and slum settings in which the Teddy Girls and Boys were often photographed.

The Teddy Girl style was a really fun one to try out. It feels so modern and trendy in some ways, but it still has those vintage roots I love so much! I won't lie, I also felt kind of B.A. wearing it; I had a bit more swag walking across campus, haha! I think I got into the gangster part of the Teddy Girl culture for just a little bit that day.

What do you guys think of the look? Does it seem more modern or more vintage to you?

Whether you have romantic plans with your special person, a crazy night with friends, or a chill-and-eat-cookie-dough-while-watching-chick-flicks night ahead of you, I hope this giveaway will add to your Valentine fun!

The winner will receive:

- Three large vintage 1960s hatpins

- Two shorter vintage black hatpins

- Three feather-shaped straight pins

- One *adorable* heart-shaped straight pin

- A vintage floral doily

(even if you're not a big hat pin person, these can also be used for sewing, crafts, home decor, etc.!)

The giveaway will close one week from today on Thursday, 21 February, and the winner will be chosen soon afterward!

I've got a flashback day for you guys, going back to around this time last year during my sophomore year at a university banquet.

I had a dress a cousin had given to me that was an old bridesmaid dress, but it was BEAUTIFULLY constructed with boning in the bodice and a row of lots of tiny buttons down the back. I got it altered to fit me, and it's still my favorite formal dress that I own! It fits perfectly, and the boning makes it comfortable to wear because it doesn't slip like cheaper strapless dresses. I LOVE wearing it and will take every opportunity to do so. :)It's not a vintage dress, but it seemed to be a pretty neutral, classic shape, and I did want to have at least some vintage style involved. I chose red as the accent color (it's classic), made a giant red flower hair piece, did my hair in a Veronica Lake-like 'do, put on red lipstick, and accessorized appropriately. I really liked how it all turned out, and I feel it does have some vintage flair to it!

I, of course, went with my man, Jacob. He looked great! My friend Noor was kind enough to photograph us before we went:

I went for Veronica Lake-inspired hair

This is the hairpiece I made to go with my outfit!

I've entitled this photo "Blinded by Awesomeness." Any Kung Fu Panda fans out there? Either that, or "I am angel, sent by God" for my "Touched By an Angel" fans!

Yes, he's much taller than me. You know the best part of this though? In this picture, I was wearing four inch heels, true story. He's a foot taller than me in actuality!

What do you guys think? Does it seem to have a bit of vintage inspiration to you? Have you "vintage-ified" any of your modern pieces? How did you do it?

About Me

Hey there! My name is Emileigh, and welcome to Flashback Summer, a vintage lifestyle blog with an intercultural twist! I'm an "old soul" in a twenty-something's body, and I adore exploring cultures, sewing, history, controversial subjects, Nutella, the Air Force, traveling, and learning new things. Feel free to stay a bit and look around!